Readers' comments

"The main obstacle to trilateral co-operation is that Canada and Mexico are much more interested in their relations with the United States than they are in each other."

Not true. Canada and Mexico have always been more interested in their relations with the US than they are in each other. The main obstacles are Mexico's inability to control its drug cartels and the US's siege mentality (everyone's coming to get us!) since 9/11.

It's really a shame that the Canadian and Mexican economies don't complement each other as much as there is potential to do so. Although the Canadian legal migrant worker programme has helped thousands of Mexicans looking for work abroad, and it has lots to teach the Americans on how to deal with foreign labour, still Canada could do more. Since Canada has imposed a visa requirement to Mexican visitors (93% middle class tourists)this has not help to stengthen bilateral ties, but to the contrary, it has killed a tourist industry that was growing 40% a year, with more Mexicans preferring to visit Montreal and Vancouver than Chicago or Dallas. I think is time Canadian politicians start paying attention to Mexico as they should, as a strategic partner that one day in the near future will be a market bigger and richer than it is now, and at par with Canada.

Arizona does not have a harsh law on immigration, no state has that, it is a federal responsibility. It has a harsh law targeting illegal immigrants!

It's also silly to call Canada a dwarf when per capita it's almost as rich as the US. "Size" in this case doesn't matter, only size per person. Perversely, Canada would probably see a net inflow of migrants if free labour were allowed given the difference in employment prospects between the two countries.

Methinks that what is disheartening is that all three economies are taking separate paths. While Canada's manufacturing is taking a whopping from a strong dollar and the lack of tariffs on Asian goods, the country is growing confident in its ability to produce valuable natural resources - especially oil - which are increasingly being demanded from sources other than the United States. Gaining a diversified trade portfolio is in our national interest and charging Americans and Mexicans more for our stuff is also in our national interest.

Meanwhile, sitting at the fence, the discourse in the United States and its appalling deficits make us shrug. What will that society be like once its troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan with their pants down?

And Mexico, with its war on drugs, 8% of its GDP in the hands of one Carlos Slim, is definitely not prone to attract direct foreign investment any time soon.

Thus while the USA and Mexico seem poised for social unrest, Canada needs to diversify its markets and defend its borders from greedy hands. The world is every day more complicated.

FINALLY:

Because Mr Harper runs a minority government that could fall at any time, he has chiefly focused on short-term, voter-pleasing issues like cracking down on illegal immigration.

- I thought Albertaman Harper was more interested in jails and preventing rape victims from getting abortions. What a Republican puppet anathema of social progress and fiscal ineptitude this man and his party are proving to be. Long live social progress! Death to deficits!

With what Trudeau named "The Elephant" between Canada and Mexico tightening border security to previously unseen levels, both seemingly viable economic partners remain even farther apart than before. It would appear that "The Elephant" comes first.

Mexico is likely still treated as a competitor to Alberta's oil industry, both major suppliors of crude to Amercia without the Middle East risk factor. Language also remains a barrier as Spanish is rarely spoken by Canadian business. Further, Canada's Government rarely, if ever, promotes trade with Mexico with the exception of travel and tourism. My recollection is that Mexican business always considered Canada to be a valid trade partner given "Frostback" status; however, this frozen North always succumbs to the American market's massive gravity.

It's true that Mexico and Canada are more focused on bilateral relations with the US than on regional integration. The real problem is in Washington though. American politicians' navel-gazing on domestic politics and disinterest in regional integration doom the initiative from the start.

With what Trudeau named "The Elephant" between Canada and Mexico tightening border security to previously unseen levels, both seemingly viable economic partners remain even farther apart than before. It would appear that "The Elephant" comes first.

Mexico is likely still treated as a competitor to Alberta's oil industry, both major suppliors of crude to Amercia without the Middle East risk factor. Language also remains a barrier as Spanish is rarely spoken by Canadian business. Further, Canada's Government rarely, if ever, promotes trade with Mexico with the exception of travel and tourism. My recollection from a NAFTA permit visit to the maquidora zone (Zona Nafta)is that Mexican business always considered Canada to be a valid and desirable trade partner given our "Frostback" status; however, this frozen North always succumbed to the American market's massive gravity over a North American NAFTA ideal.

The recent moves towards Perimeter Security between Canada and the US, excluding Mexico, are further proof that we have seen the official arrival of a two-speed North America. See my recent piece on the subject on the CSIS website: http://bit.ly/gbx6l0